[Publius]

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Coburn and other Republicans are latching on to this movement to destroy it.

[jonno]

I’m not confident that a constitutional convention (CC) would bode us well given the rampant ignorance of our current electorate.

For me this falls under: beware the law of unintended consequences, and be careful what you ask for.

And if I might might be forgiven for mixing metaphors, I don’t trust our current crop of rinos to NOT sell the farm - for a bowl of porridge.

Truthfully, there has not yet been enough real pain to knock some sense into our citizens. After that? maybe a CC would be in order.

My two cents...

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Beyond getting Congress to pass a balanced budget . . . supporters of the largely Republican-backed effort are also focused on such issues as campaign finance reform and making sure the [government doesn't over regulate destroying our Constitution and Republic].

Basically this is a medical issue -- an autoimmune disease of the body politic.

The "doctors" had better get cracking.. Abe warns us from "the other side."

You initiated a policy to tolerate the Marxist-Alinsky radicals and let them rant; not only has it not ceased but was constantly augmented by decades of infiltration and indoctrination. You now have two Americas. In my opinion, it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half statist and half free; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.

[Uri’el-2012]

State-Led Push to Force Constitutional Convention

What jackwad wrote the headline ?

[Star Traveler]

Good Advice Against a Con Con
http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2010/apr10/10-04-09.html

Speaking to us from across the years, the Father of the U.S. Constitution, James Madison, wrote this warning on November 2, 1788, against calling another general constitutional convention.

“If a General Convention were to take place for the avowed and sole purpose of revising the Constitution, it would naturally consider itself as having a greater latitude than the Congress appointed to administer and support as well as to amend the system; it would consequently give greater agitation to the public mind; an election into it would be courted by the most violent partisans on both sides; it would probably consist of the most heterogeneous characters; would be the very focus of that flame which has already too much heated men of all parties; would no doubt contain individuals of insidious views, who under the mask of seeking alterations popular in some parts but inadmissible in other parts of the Union might have a dangerous opportunity of sapping the very foundations of the fabric.

“Under all these circumstances it seems scarcely to be presumable that the deliberations of the body could be conducted in harmony, or terminate in the general good. Having witnessed the difficulties and dangers experienced by the first Convention which assembled under every propitious circumstance, I should tremble for the result of a Second, meeting in the present temper of America, and under all the disadvantages I have mentioned.”

[Thud]

Presidential line-item veto over budget appropriations.

Either "All federal judicial offices are elective on such terms and conditions as Congress may allow. The President may fill vacancies by appointment." or "

Twenty year term limits for Congress.

"No vote in Congress may require more than a majority save when specified by the Constitution." No more filibusters.

I hate the arrogant Senate and would totally slam its ability to harm the country. No bills may originate in Senate, or be amended in the Senate. Transfer its power to approve treaties and presidential appointments to the House. All the Senate can do is vote yes or no on legislation proposed by the House. Really major term limits (like two years) for the next forty years to break its institutional memory.

[momincombatboots]

When they call a con con we will lose our guns. What kind of morons think this is good? For heavens sake, they couldn’t even get rid of boener and we trust them with a con con? It doesn’t even take a single brain cell to figure this out. The Libs want a con con and we are playing right into their hands... You can kiss religion guns and speech goodbye.

[Maelstorm]

This is good. I believe this is a no lose situation. Either we improve the constitution or we end up with a way to peacefully dissolve the union.

[Amendment10]

• Since the corrupt feds have shown that they’re not willing to police themselves with respect to complying with their constitutionally limited powers, including respecting their limited power to lay taxes, the Constitution needs to be amended a follows. The states need to give themselves the power to recall or impeach out of office any bad-apple federal lawmaker, executive, judge or justice. The states could do so on a 2/3 majority state vote.

• The ill-conceived 17th Amendment also needs to be repealed, the states also giving individual states the power to recall their own bad-apple lawmaker, general voters being able to recall representatives, state lawmakers being able to recall senators.

• Since the Founding States made Sections 1-3 of Article I to clarify that all federal legislative power are vested in the elected members of Congress, so-called “independent federal regulatory agencies” have no constitutional bases to exist and should disappear.

• Domestic federal spending programs need to be limited mainly to delivering mail (1.8.7) as the Founding States had intended.

• Candidate state and federal lawmakers need to be constitutionally required to pass a basic constitutional law test before actually being allowed to run for office, such a test emphasizing the federal government’s constitutionally limited powers, including the federal government’s limited power to lay taxes.

  Voters need to be constitutionally required to pass the same test before being allowed to vote in state and federal elections.

• States who fail to economically sustain themselves need their stars to be removed from the flag.

[Jim Robinson]

Article V bump! Take it back!

[Sola Veritas]

IF a general convention was to be convened, I would like to see the power of the SCOTUS to radically reinterpret the COTUS to be limited.

For instance, anytime the SCOTUS creates a “landmark” ruling that effectively changes the way things have been done previously. I would want their ruling subject to “ratification” by the states as any other constitutional amendment is. I am tried of the SCOTUS being able to rule something as “unconstitutional” (like the soon to come usurpation of a state’s ability to define marriage) and it being called “the law of the land” without it being ratified by each state first. I know this cuts both ways, but limits on the SCOTUS are way overdue.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Still a longshot, but heading in the right direction. Thank you Mark Levin.

[djf]

I have heard, somewhat off the cuff, that 41 states have passed a resolution.

That’s way more than needed.

[SMGFan]

Mark R. Levin ‏@marklevinshow · 8h8 hours ago Wonder why these "reporters" never spoke to me,

[OneWingedShark]

To those who are saying that an Article V convention would open the Constitution to amendments: look at the following pictures, they show how amendments are proposed and ratified — an Article 5 convention is for proposing Amendments. Period. — They still need ratified.

Here's what I would propose:

Tax Reform Amendment	Fiscal Responsibility Amendment	Judicial Reform Amendment
Section I No tax, fee, fine, or judgement —federal, State, or subdivision of either— shall ever be withheld from any wage. Section II No property shall be seized for failure to pay taxes until after conviction in a jury trial; the right of the jury to nullify (and thereby forgive) this debt shall never be questioned or denied. Section III The second amendment is hereby recognized as restricting the power of taxation, both federal and state, therefore no tax (or fee, or fine) shall be laid upon munitions or the sale thereof. Section IV The seventh amendment is also hereby recognized, and nothing in this amendment shall restrict the right of a citizen to seek civil redress. Section V No income tax levied by the federal government, the several States, or any subdivision of either shall ever exceed 10%. Section VI No income tax levied by the federal government, the several States, or any subdivision of either shall ever apply varying rates to those in its jurisdiction. Section VII No retrospective, retroactive, or ex post facto tax, fee, or fine shall ever be valid; nor shall the Congress delegate the creation of any tax, fee, or fine in any way; nor shall Congress give any credit, exemption, or deduction to any person, class of persons, or corporation whatsoever. Section VIII No federal employee, representative, senator, judge, justice or agent shall ever be exempt from any tax, fine, or fee by virtue of their position. Section IX Any federal employee, representative, senator, judge, justice or agent abridging, attempting to abridge, or otherwise circumventing this amendment shall, upon conviction, be evicted from office and all retirement benefits forfeit.	Section I The power of Congress to regulate the value of money is hereby rescinded; the unit of money of the United States is the Dollar. Section II The value of the Dollar shall be one fifteen-hundredth avoirdupois ounce of gold of which impurities do not exceed one part per thousand. Section III To guard against Congress using its authority over weights and measures to bypass Section I, the ounce in Section II is approximately 28.3495 grams (SI). Section IV The Secretary of the Treasury shall annually report the gold physically in its possession; this report shall be publicly available. Any five states may commission a third party audit to confirm this report at their own expense. Section V The power of the Congress to assume debt is hereby restricted: the congress shall assume no debt that shall cause the total obligations of the United States to exceed one hundred ten percent of the amount last reported by the Secretary of the Treasury. Section VI Any government agent, officer, judge, justice, employee, representative, or congressman causing gold, money, or real estate to be confiscated from a citizen shall be tried for theft and upon conviction shall:      a.  be removed from office (and fired, if an employee),      b.  forfeit all pension and retirement benefits,      c.  pay all legal costs, and      d.  restore to the bereaved twice the amount in controversy. Section VII The federal government shall assume no obligation lacking funding, neither shall it lay such obligation on any of the several States, any subdivision thereof, or any place under the jurisdiction of the United States. All unfunded liabilities heretofore assumed by the United States are void. Section VIII The federal government shall make all payments to its employees or the several states in physical gold. Misappropriation, malfeasance and/or misfeasance of funds shall be considered confiscation and theft.	Section I No court or tribunal shall deny inquiry into its jurisdiction or the authority under which it operates; misrepresentation thereof shall result in that person being charged with malfeasance. Section II The Constitution may always be used as a defense, the interpretation presented may or may not be correct —it is the right of the jury to decide— but the court cannot prevent it from being cited. Section III The Fifth amendment’s prohibition against being tried for the same offence twice is hereby recognized as applying to the actions and not the jurisdiction; therefore no federal case shall be made against a person for actions already tried by the state or subdivision thereof. However, nothing is to prevent a State from trying persons for Treason against their own sovereignty. Section IV The Sixth amendment’s guarantee of a speedy trial is hereby recognized: for every week after the six months from the start of the trial the accused shall be paid the national average wage for one week’s pay, this payment shall be the responsibility and liability of the officers of the court. Section V The Eighth amendment is hereby recognized as preventing excessively long imprisonment: no term of imprisonment shall exceed ten years. The Eighth amendment shall not be held to prevent capital punishment. Section VI The Second amendment is hereby recognized: no court shall bar a juror from wearing his weapon, as he is a free man. Section VII No right of the Citizen shall be denied to a Citizen who has completed his sentence. Section VIII The text of the Constitution should not be arbitrarily reinterpreted and, as the judiciary does such with its doctrine of incorporation, the Fourteenth amendment is hereby repealed.
Senate Reform Amendment	Commerce Clause Amendment	Grand Jury Amendment
Section I The seventeenth amendment is hereby repealed. Section II The several states may provide by law the means by which their senators may be removed or replaced. Section III No person shall be a senator for more than two consecutive terms. Section IV All Senators shall be paid by their respective states according to such wages as that State may set; they shall receive no remuneration from the federal government.	Section I The federal government shall directly subsidize no product or industry whatsoever, saving the promotion of the progress of Science and useful Arts. Section II The federal government shall never prescribe nor proscribe what the several states teach. Neither the federal government nor the several states shall ever deny the right of parents to teach and instruct their children as they see fit. Section III The congress may impose tariffs, excise taxes, and customs duties on anything imported or exported, provided that they are applied uniformly and in no manner restrict, subvert, or circumvent the second amendment. Section IV No federal law, rule, or regulation may impose prohibitions or restrictions of any sort on the commerce between the several states due to the item itself.	Section I The Grand Jury is hereby recognized as an independent, self-directing body of inquisitors comprised of citizens with power to pursue any unlawful conduct to its source, including the government itself. Section II All government agents, officers, judges, justices, employees, representatives, or congressmen may be held to account for obstructing a Grand Jury — upon conviction in a jury trial they shall be fined up to six month’s pay (but not less than one) and may be jailed for an equal term. Section III Any judge or prosecutor refusing to act upon a Presentment shall immediately be evicted from office. Section IV No member of a Grand Jury shall be involuntarily removed for any cause except conviction of a felony or Treason. Section V The local Sheriff of each county shall appoint the members of the federal Grand Jury for that county within two months after his election and their term shall be of the same length of time as the Sherif but starting six month after the start of his tenure.

There's a PDF with rationales for each of these here, and a comment thread here.